University Life in Udine

Universities and Points of Interest

Are you a student wishing to study in Udine? Here's everything you need to know.

Some info about the notebook

In this notebook there will be content designed specifically for users, others for programmers.

This distinction is made explicit by the use of the following icons:

• User 🧍‍♂️
• Programmer 👨‍💻

In the first part of the notebook we show the plot_udine_map() function and explain how it works.

In the second part we present real-life usage scenarios in which the function can be used to provide information to the user. You can find a more visually appealing version of the scenarios on the following website.

---

Setup 👨‍💻

We import the necessary libraries for the notebook to correctly work.

# Import Libraries
import geopandas as gpd
import pygeos
import pyrosm
import matplotlib.pyplot as plt
import geopy
import pandana
import osmnx as ox
from pprint import pprint
import pandas as pd
import os
import sys

# Import custom modules
sys.path.insert(0, os.path.abspath('../')) # need to pass absolute path in nb

from functions.dataviz_geopandas import plot_udine_map, extract_info_from_dict

print("> Setup Completed")

> Setup Completed

Map of the City

Import necessary data 👨‍💻

In order, we use:

• data from the Italian municipalities, which were provided to us during the course
• the .pbf of the city of Udine, obtained using Wikimedia Italy

# import data on Italian municipalities
italy_municipalities_path = "../data/Com01012021_g/Com01012021_g_WGS84.shp"
italy_municipalities = gpd.read_file(italy_municipalities_path)

# save Udine and the municipalities in the province of Udine
udine_geodf = italy_municipalities.loc[italy_municipalities["COMUNE"] == "Udine"]
udine_mun_geodf = italy_municipalities.loc[italy_municipalities["COD_PROV"] == 30]

# we now import the .pbf file of the city, obtained through Wikimedia Italy
udine_osm = pyrosm.OSM("../data/udine.osm.pbf")

Plot the base map of Udine 👨‍💻

We start by showing the simplest map that can be obtained, showing only the streets and buildings on the map of Udine.

The thicker and darker streets are for cars, while the thinner and lighter ones are for pedestrians.

base_map = plot_udine_map(
    udine_geodf = udine_geodf, 
    udine_osm = udine_osm, 
    list_of_places = [],
    save = True,
    save_path="../dataviz/udine_base_map.jpg"
    )

> Obtaining Buildings from OSM
> Obtaining Streets from OSM
> Clipping Buildings and Streets
> Generating Base Map
> Adding Buildings
> Adding Streets
> Saving the image

> Elapsed Time: 13.17 seconds

Note: you can find all the visualizations in the dataviz folder.

Plot places of interest 👨‍💻

Using the plot_udine_map() function, we can plot many interesting places for students on the map of Udine.

The legend, with all possible types of obtainable places, follows.

In the following example we select all the possible places, plot them on the map and get their information.

list_of_places_to_plot = [
    "university",
    "supermarket",
    "hospital",
    "eating place",
    "bicycle rental",
    "car rental",
    "bus station"
]

address = "Via Buttrio 286, Udine, Italy"

info_buttrio = plot_udine_map(
    udine_geodf = udine_geodf, 
    udine_osm = udine_osm, 
    list_of_places = list_of_places_to_plot,
    custom_address = address,
    save = True,
    save_path="../dataviz/udine_buttrio.jpg"
    )

> Obtaining Buildings from OSM
> Obtaining Streets from OSM
> Clipping Buildings and Streets
> Generating Base Map
> Adding Buildings
> Adding Streets
> Adding Universities
> Adding Supermarket
> Adding Hospitals
> Adding Eating Places
> Adding Bicycle Rental Locations
> Adding Car Rental Locations
> Adding Bus Stations
> Adding info about provided Address to the Map
 - Geocoding Address
 - Checking that the position found is within the boundaries of Udine
 - The location is within boundaries, adding Location to the Map
 - Obtaining Information about Required Locations
    * Supermarkets
    * Hospitals
    * Eating Places
    * Bicycle Rentals
    * Car Rentals
    * Bus Stations
> Saving the image

> Elapsed Time: 78.78 seconds

When creating the map, we also obtain additional information on the required places.

• First we have the distance to each university location, considering the shortest route from the student's address.

• For each other type of places the function returns the name and distance of the nearest type of place, together with the number of places within 1km of the address given by the student.

The information is stored in a dictionary, let's explore it.

pprint(info_buttrio)

{'bicycle_rental': {'closest_distance': 1822.59,
                    'closest_name': 'Vascello',
                    'in_1km_area': 0},
 'bus_station': {'closest_distance': 2012.22,
                 'closest_name': 'Autostazione di Udine',
                 'in_1km_area': 0},
 'car_rental': {'closest_distance': 1638.86,
                'closest_name': 'Doraponti',
                'in_1km_area': 0},
 'eating_place': {'closest_distance': 1153.33,
                  'closest_name': 'Angolo della pizza',
                  'in_1km_area': 3},
 'hospital': {'closest_distance': 3668.86,
              'closest_name': 'Policlinico Città di Udine Polo 2',
              'in_1km_area': 0},
 'supermarket': {'closest_distance': 1234.42,
                 'closest_name': 'Coop',
                 'in_1km_area': 1},
 'university': {'Dipartimento di Scienze Giuridiche': 2044.03,
                'Università degli Studi di Udine - Dipartimento di Area medica': 4531.87,
                'Università degli Studi di Udine - Facoltà di Medicina e Chirurgia - Corsi di Laurea Area Sanitaria': 1890.05,
                'Università degli Studi di Udine - Facoltà di Scienze della Formazione': 2758.94,
                'Università degli Studi di Udine - Polo Scientifico dei Rizzi': 5293.57}}

Although the dictionary is understandable, it is preferable to show the user the information in tabular form.

We can do it using the extract_info_from_dict() function.

info = extract_info_from_dict(info_buttrio)

display(info[0])
display(info[1])

	University	Distance (m)
0	Dipartimento di Scienze Giuridiche	2044.03
1	Facoltà di Medicina e Chirurgia - Corsi di Lau...	1890.05
2	Facoltà di Scienze della Formazione	2758.94
3	Dipartimento di Area medica	4531.87
4	Polo Scientifico dei Rizzi	5293.57

	Location	Closest (name)	Closest (distance)	Total in 1km Area
0	supermarket	Coop	1234.42	1
1	hospital	Policlinico Città di Udine Polo 2	3668.86	0
2	eating_place	Angolo della pizza	1153.33	3
3	bicycle_rental	Vascello	1822.59	0
4	car_rental	Doraponti	1638.86	0
5	bus_station	Autostazione di Udine	2012.22	0

Plot the fastest routes to the Universities 👨‍💻

In addition to obtaining information about universities and places, it is possible to display this information on the map using the following function parameters:

• show_km_range: shows the 1km area around the address provided by the student
• plot_uni_routes: shows the fastest routes to the required universities

The user can choose between 5 university locations (list_of_uni parameter):

• Dipartimento di Scienze Giuridiche
• Università degli Studi di Udine - Facoltà di Medicina e Chirurgia - Corsi di Laurea Area Sanitaria
• Università degli Studi di Udine - Facoltà di Scienze della Formazione
• Università degli Studi di Udine - Dipartimento di Area medica
• Università degli Studi di Udine - Polo Scientifico dei Rizzi

Note: If you do not specify any university location, the function will report information on all of them.

We will see how it works in use cases.

Real Scenarios 🧍‍♂️

Now let's see how you can use the map, through real scenarios.

Massimo

Massimo took the test to get into medicine, but has not yet received the result. Besides medicine, he has a passion for law, which would be his second option.

He has decided to move to Udine as soon as possible. He is looking for a house that is close to both universities.

He does not like to cook, so he often eats out.

Massimo suffers from anaemia and often has to go to hospital for blood tests, so he would like his house to be close to a hospital.

He has found two flats in the following streets:

• Via Guarnerio D'Artegna, 82
• Via Cormor Alto, 29

Let's see how our map can help him.

Massimo can easily get the location of the two flats on the map, together with the fastest route to the universities and the points of interest he requested.

list_of_places_to_plot = [
    "university",
    #"supermarket",
    "hospital",
    "eating place",
    "bicycle rental",
    #"car rental",
    "bus station"
]

address = "Via Guarnerio D'Artegna 82, Udine, Italy"

list_of_uni = [
    "Università degli Studi di Udine - Dipartimento di Area medica",
    "Dipartimento di Scienze Giuridiche"
    ]

info_guarnerio_artedgna = plot_udine_map(
    udine_geodf = udine_geodf, 
    udine_osm = udine_osm, 
    list_of_places = list_of_places_to_plot,
    custom_address = address,
    show_km_range = True,
    plot_uni_routes = True,
    list_of_uni = list_of_uni,
    save = True,
    save_path="../dataviz/student_example_1A.jpg"
    )

> Obtaining Buildings from OSM
> Obtaining Streets from OSM
> Clipping Buildings and Streets
> Generating Base Map
> Adding Buildings
> Adding Streets
> Adding Universities
> Adding Hospitals
> Adding Eating Places
> Adding Bicycle Rental Locations
> Adding Bus Stations
> Adding info about provided Address to the Map
 - Geocoding Address
 - Checking that the position found is within the boundaries of Udine
 - The location is within boundaries, adding Location to the Map
 - Obtaining Information about Required Locations
    * Hospitals
    * Eating Places
    * Bicycle Rentals
    * Bus Stations
> Saving the image

> Elapsed Time: 67.74 seconds

info = extract_info_from_dict(info_guarnerio_artedgna)

display(info[0])
display(info[1])

	University	Distance (m)
0	Dipartimento di Scienze Giuridiche	1725.96
1	Dipartimento di Area medica	1803.20

	Location	Closest (name)	Closest (distance)	Total in 1km Area
0	hospital	Pronto Soccorso Udine	1307.34	0
1	eating_place	PIATTO C'ALDO	315.05	11
2	bicycle_rental	Chiavris	748.41	2
3	bus_station	Autostazione di Udine	2821.64	0

list_of_places_to_plot = [
    "university",
    #"supermarket",
    "hospital",
    "eating place",
    "bicycle rental",
    #"car rental",
    "bus station"
]

address = "Via S. Rocco 20, Udine, Italy"

list_of_uni = [
    "Università degli Studi di Udine - Dipartimento di Area medica",
    "Dipartimento di Scienze Giuridiche"
    ]

info_rocco = plot_udine_map(
    udine_geodf = udine_geodf, 
    udine_osm = udine_osm, 
    list_of_places = list_of_places_to_plot,
    custom_address = address,
    show_km_range = True,
    plot_uni_routes = True,
    list_of_uni = list_of_uni,
    save = True,
    save_path="../dataviz/student_example_1B.jpg"
    )

> Obtaining Buildings from OSM
> Obtaining Streets from OSM
> Clipping Buildings and Streets
> Generating Base Map
> Adding Buildings
> Adding Streets
> Adding Universities
> Adding Hospitals
> Adding Eating Places
> Adding Bicycle Rental Locations
> Adding Bus Stations
> Adding info about provided Address to the Map
 - Geocoding Address
 - Checking that the position found is within the boundaries of Udine
 - The location is within boundaries, adding Location to the Map
 - Obtaining Information about Required Locations
    * Hospitals
    * Eating Places
    * Bicycle Rentals
    * Bus Stations
> Saving the image

> Elapsed Time: 64.35 seconds

The blue circle around the flat covers everything within 1 km. This makes it easy to see which points of interest are nearby and what instead is missing in the vicinity of the flat.

The map also provides information such as:

• shortest distance from the required universities
• for each type of point of interest
  • name and distance of the nearest
  • total number within one km of the flat

info = extract_info_from_dict(info_rocco)

display(info[0])
display(info[1])

	University	Distance (m)
0	Dipartimento di Scienze Giuridiche	1540.99
1	Dipartimento di Area medica	2605.93

	Location	Closest (name)	Closest (distance)	Total in 1km Area
0	hospital	Policlinico Città di Udine Polo 2	530.00	1
1	eating_place	Osteria Da Artico	393.95	68
2	bicycle_rental	Moretti	345.93	7
3	bus_station	Terminal Studenti	1337.19	0

Using the map Massimo discovers that the flat in Via S. Rocco is closer to the hospital, and that he has numerous places to eat out around him.

The distance to the universities is similar, so Massimo has no more doubts and decides to move to the second flat.

Elisa

TODO: Inserire qui secondo scenario. Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet consectetur adipisicing elit. Id facilis quam, ratione, tempore quod reprehenderit similique, porro ad explicabo deserunt minus quis corrupti necessitatibus nesciunt animi molestiae. Doloremque, beatae incidunt!